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Over the last several years, designers have been working toward developing airbag suppression systems in order to satisfy the new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 - Occupant Crash Protection requirements currently being phased-in [1, 2]. By September 1, 2005, all vehicles are required to be in compliance with the new requirements. The new rule requires that vehicles must have an airbag suppression system that turns the airbag off in cases where a child or child seat is detected in the front passenger occupant position. Typically incorporated in the seating structure or cushion area, these suppression systems are activated each time the seat is occupied. More so than any other component, this feature makes safety, durability, and reliability testing of these systems critical to their functionality. This paper will discuss how airbag suppression systems have affected the standard testing procedures of vehicle components including seats and airbags.

Computer simulation modelling has become one of the cornerstones for automotive safety vehicle development. The desire to shorten vehicle design schedules, as well as reduce prototype build and test cycles, is driving the need for more useful and accurate simulation models. This paper discusses testing techniques for two commonly used types of models; Lumped Mass/Spring and Occupant Response Simulation. These models are used for vehicle structure and interior component and restraint development, respectively. Although these types of simulations are not new to the industry, both the actual models and testing techniques used to generate input data have been gradually improved throughout the years. Readers of this paper will gain a broader understanding of the usefulness of these models, as well as the component testing which is done to build a valid simulation.

A comprehensive strategy to investigate the role of the body mounts on the passenger compartment response in a frontal crash event is presented. The activities of the study include quasi-static vehicle crush testing, development of a component-level dynamic body mount test methodology, lumped-mass computer modeling, as well as technical analysis. In addition, a means of investigating the effects the body mounts have on the passenger compartment response during a frontal barrier impact is addressed.

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 - Occupant Crash Protection establishes performance requirements to determine whether passenger vehicles, light multipurpose vehicles, and trucks meet conditions and injury criteria specified by the standard. On May 12, 2004, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) amended the standard to set the path for future air bag development [1, 2]. The amendment concerned the development of airbag systems that would be designed to minimize the risk of air bag induced injuries in comparison to current technologies. These new rules forward the framework for engineering of these systems without strictly regulating their design. This paper will discuss the test methodologies used from the initial design phase to the final validation phase of a vehicle. Strategies for advanced air bag system types, suppression and low risk occupant mixes, and the use of human subjects will be discussed.

In April 1997, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a final rule amending Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 201U. This rule specifies improved upper interior head impact protection requirements for all vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 lbs or less (and buses under 8,500 lbs). The purpose of this new safety standard is to afford occupants within a vehicle additional protection to reduce the likelihood of severe head injury regardless of the type of vehicle collision. As with past standards, the NHTSA provided a test procedure to be used for compliance testing. This procedure includes information regarding set-up, targeting, testing, and data analysis. The targeting procedure, which locates all applicable target points on the upper interior trim of a vehicle, was written without being vehicle-specific. This test procedure is one of the most complex and time-consuming testing protocols developed in recent years.

This paper presents the resultf a project concerning the development of a test procedure for evaluating rear impact guards installed on trailers. The procedure was based on requirements established in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 223, Rear Impact Guards. Rear impact guards are required on trailers to prevent passenger vehicles from driving underneath the rear of a trailer, commonly referred to as underride. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 11,551 rear-end crashes with trucks, trailers, and semi-trailers occur annually. These crashes result in approximately 423 passenger vehicle occupant fatalities and 5030 nonfatal injuries. The nonfatal injuries include lacerations to the head and neck area, severe brain trauma, and internal hemorrhaging. The objective of the test procedure was to present uniform formats for testing and data recording, and provide suggestions for the use of specific equipment.

Abstract - Approximately a quarter of automobile accidents in the United States involve multiple impacts, but no standard test methodologies exist for the evaluation of these types of events. In this study, four categories were used for the selection of multiple crash scenarios, resulting in ten representatives of multiple scenarios. NASS-CDS was analyzed to determine the types and percentages of multiple crash accidents. Simulation was conducted with variable such as initial velocity of each vehicle, and items such as overlap and angle between vehicles. And it was used determine the final test conditions. The review of the test results, indicated different vehicle dynamics, vehicle damage and occupant kinematics compared with NCAP test modes. This data can be helpful to understand how the severe accidents are happening and how the occupants move and are injured inside the vehicle in which accidents are occurring in the field.

Historically, crash development component testing has been conducted using gravity-based vertical drop towers. The drop tower carriage is loaded to a specified weight, raised to a specific height to achieve an energy target, and dropped onto the part. This long-used approach has significant limitations with respect to achievable speed and energy, part orientation, impact angle, useable impact surface, component size, etc. With the wide variance in simulating today’s global crash scenarios, a better approach is being developed using an impact sled. The most significant advantage of this system is that there is a much higher achievable speed and energy which can be controlled with precise accuracy. This paper will provide an overview of the impact sled test system, as well as the methodology used to conduct the testing. The overview will include the challenges faced during the development of the impact sled, as well as the need for accurate and precise component fixturing methods.

This paper presents testing methodologies used for the evaluation of airbag sensor systems. The methods are geared towards the analysis of airbag deployment/non-deployment situations through the use of harsh and abusive tests that include both driving and stationary impact conditions. Readers of the paper will gain a broad understanding of the testing options that are available to develop suitable airbag sensor systems and deployment algorithms. The methodologies presented in this paper address only the issue of preventing deployment in certain environments. The vehicle conditions are critical when developing the threshold of the deployment algorithm. The Rough Road and Abuse tests are an important part of developing this algorithm. With airbag deployment threshold levels being such an important issue in the safety field, the test methods used to simulate real world conditions become an integral aspect to overall airbag development.

Vehicle manufacturers are developing dynamically deploying upper interior head protection systems to provide added occupant protection in lateral crashes. These devices are used to protect the head and neck areas and to prevent ejection from the vehicle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has established requirements in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 201 [1] for these systems. This paper will discuss testing methodologies in the areas of component testing of curtain-type side airbag systems and full scale side impact testing of a vehicle into a rigid pole. These testing methodologies have been created as a direct result of the development phase of several airbag systems. Prior to pole impact testing, tests have been developed which evaluate these types of systems for characteristics such as inflation time, fill capacity, and how long the system stays inflated during side impact and rollover simulations.